CIA Climate Center Closing

Somewhere, Al Gore is throwing a temper tantrum. The CIA is getting rid of it's climate center, something taxpayers never should have paid for in the first place.

With the U.S. intelligence budget shrinking, the CIA has quietly shut down its Center on Climate Change and National Security -- a project that was launched with the support of Leon Panetta when he led the agency, but that drew sharp criticism from some Republicans in Congress.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the center said it closed its doors earlier this year, with its staff and analysis continuing under other auspices.

CIA spokesman Todd Ebitz confirmed the change.

"The CIA for several years has studied the national security implications of climate change," Ebitz said in a statement to Greenwire. "This work is now performed by a dedicated team in an office that looks at a variety of economic and energy security issues affecting the United States."

The climate center closing comes just a week after President Obama announced plans to "deal with" the "important" issue of climate change and it's effect on the country and the world.